Temporary seat covers are commonly used to protect the upholstery of vehicle seats from soil. In sales showrooms, the vehicles are subject to countless trial "sittings" by prospective purchasers and sales personnel. As a matter of psychology, it gives the new owner of a vehicle considerable satisfaction to be able to peel off a protective cover, and know that he is the first user of the upholstery.
Some seat covers are designed to be slipped on by mechanics that may be contacting the seat during service operations. A cover of this type is shown and claimed in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,376, issued June 30, 1987. That cover is made of a plastic material having a greater coefficient of friction on the inside than on the outside, so that it will stay in place on the seat, and yet permit the occupant to slide freely over it. These covers are commonly transparent, permitting the appearance of the upholstery to remain visible.
There are a number of advantages to installing a protective cover over a seat as soon as the seat is manufactured, and before it is mounted on the support structure in the vehicle. The seat is then protected while it is still an inventory item, and subject to the usual handling in storage and shipment. The installation of such a seat cover after the mounting of the seat in the vehicle is complicated by the presence of the support structure for the seat. To remain securely in place and effectively protect the sides and front of the seat, the cover should embrace a considerable portion of the seat. This is obstructed by the structure on which the seat rests. When the cover is slipped over the seat before the seat is mounted, portions of the embracing cover become entrapped between the seat and its supporting surfaces, making it difficult to remove the cover later without leaving unsightly fragments of the cover material protruding.